Toms River East head coach Kyle Sandberg takes the fodder and turns it into fuel -- not the regular unleaded stuff, but high test. He takes all that doubt and adds it to the already king-sized chip East’s collective shoulders. All those who tell them they can’t make the Raiders more determined than ever to show they can.

Friday night, the non-believers were out in force predicting Toms River East couldn’t win a playoff game.

Intstead, Toms River East went out and played as near a perfect high school football game as could be played on a frigid night with history attempting to stare the Raiders down.

Toms River East won a playoff game for the first time since 2009 on its home turf, 17-7, over Middletown North in a Central Jersey Group 4 game. The Raiders are now 9-1.

Sandberg and the Raiders would appreciate folks saying they can’t beat Jackson Memorial next week, too. They could use some motivation for practice on Monday and Tuesday.

“There aren’t many East teams that can say they won a playoff game, but this one can,” said Sandberg, who graduated from Toms River East in 2005 and played on a 9-2 team during the 2004 season. “I told these kids they could be something special.”

For whatever reason, the Toms River East seniors -- who were part of teams that went 1-9, 2-8, 3-6 -- bought a sales pitch that must have been akin to selling ice makers to Eskimos.

“I use the doubters,” Sandberg said. “The media, people outside our program. I use it as fuel to fire our kids and make them want to prove people wrong.”

Toms River East plays with an us against them mentality. Them being everybody on the planet who breathes oxygen.

“When I started here we were at ground zero,” Sandberg said. “We were dust. But these seniors found a reason to believe and turned into a unit.”

Seniors like quarterback Mike Goodall, who missed games for disciplinary reasons earlier in the season, but ran Friday like his hair was on fire. Like linebacker Frank Giannetti, who is playing on a gimpy knee. Like Alex Smith, whose alertness led to an interception that set up the decisive touchdown.

When an opponent thinks it has Toms River East cornered is when the Raiders are at their best.

“Our backs were to the wall and for many of our kids this was do or die,” Sandberg said.

Toms River East likes to play that way.

Goodall rushed for 119 yards. Giannetti led a spirited defensive effort that stopped Middletown North in East territory four times. Smith’s 47-yard return of the interception set up a one-yard plunge by junior Yusuf Ahmed five plays later.

“That played turned the tables,” Smith said. “Middletown North was driving and we needed to pick it up a notch. We never give up."

This Toms River East team has thrived in close games. The 2019 Raiders have won six games by a total of 18 points. This team has come too far and gone through too much to be frazzled by a close game in the fourth quarter.